Kim Kardashian explains why she changed her name right before becoming famous
Kim Kardashian has opened up about her last-minute decision to alter her name before her family's reality TV show hit screens over 20 years ago.
For her fans, Kim is considered reality TV royalty. But in the years before she and her family hit international headlines in the late 00s, Kim seemingly foresaw the fame and fortune for which she was destined - and with this in mind, she made the ultimate decision to change her name.
The 45-year-old's rise to fame kicked off after she struck up a friendship with Hollywood socialite Paris Hilton, through whom she quietly built connections behind the scenes.
In 2007, however, Kim's life shifted dramatically when an intimate tape was made public, pushing her into an intense media spotlight - and that same year, she and her family were cast in Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
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Over the 14 years they filmed, Kim emerged as a breakout star, going on to launch a handful of successful fashion brands, as well as beauty lines and shape-wear.
Her love life also kept her consistently in the headlines - especially with regards to her high-profile marriage to now-estranged ex-husband Kanye West.
After KUWTK came to an end, the family transitioned to streaming, still starring on Hulu's The Kardashians.
But not long before the family were handed their very own reality TV series, Kim made the decision to change her name.
Speaking to Time magazine on Thursday (4 December), the mother-of-four said: "I used to always go by Kimberly, until we signed on to do the reality show.
"And when I looked at my chyron, Kimberly Kardashian, I said, 'I think that’s so long for people to say.' And like, 'Let’s just shorten it to Kim'."
The SKIMS boss went on to recall that, beforehand, she'd hardly ever been referred to as the three-letter nickname.
"It’s so weird, because all my friends from high school and growing up, and my dad, everyone calls me Kimberly," she continued.
Looking back at the early days of KUWTK, Kim went on to tell her outlet that - though her 'momager' mother and four sisters have each skyrocketed to stardom in their own right - she's the one who convinced them to get comfortable with cameras.
"I really wanted it," she confessed. "I really wanted to do a reality show since the day MTV’s The Real World came out, and I watched it with my best friend.
"I looked at her, and I told her, 'That’s what I’m going to do.' And she said, 'I’ll be your manager.' I think we were 11. I said, 'When we’re 18, we have to make a tape and send it into The Real World'."
Kim added: "Her dad’s in the music-business management world. So she said, 'Oh, we can get my dad to send it to someone at MTV.'
"We made a whole plan."
Though time would see Kris becoming Kim's manager, KUWTK was backed by Bunim/Murray, who produced the MTV series she'd been a fan of for so long.
Apparently, it was the opportunity for sisters Kourtney and Khloe to promote their now-defunct clothing boutique Dash that saw them finally agree to let producers into their home.
"The whole reason we wanted to start our show was to bring attention to our Dash store–at least that’s how I was able to get my sisters to sign on," Kim continued. "I let them know that, you know, it’ll bring such great promotion to our store. And they were in once they heard that."
Topics: Kim Kardashian, The Kardashians, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Celebrity, Reality TV, US News
Rhianna Benson